Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle, #1)

by Jay Kristoff

[Beth C.]

I have been a fan of Kristoff since I read an arc of his first book, "Stormdancer". I have happily read every book of his since then, and when he announced that "Nevernight" was coming, I pre-ordered not one, but TWO different copies (One from the U.K., because seriously – their covers are SO. MUCH. COOLER.). And now that I’ve read the book, I can absolutely attest to the fact that Kristoff is a whiz at world- and character-building.

The book is written by a mysterious narrator who only tells the reader that he/she knew Mia – the REAL Mia, not the one told of in stories. This narrator loved her, and though Mia is dead, the record should be set straight. No spoilers here – this is the first page of the book, and we learn that the narrator will tell it true, even when the truth is nasty and dirty. From there, the story is told in alternating present as Mia attempts to gain entrance into the Red Church school of assassins, and the past, where we learn what happened to her and how she became the girl she is. A definite strength in this book are the characters – layers upon layers of truth and lies within them, as we humans tend to be. When several of those characters are also working to become assassins, the layers multiply exponentially until the truth and the lies begin to blur together.

The world-building is also excellent. This place that seems so much like Venice might have way back when, but with lakes of blood to travel through and monsters that attack from the sand, gods that not only exist but bless their favorites, and sorcerii that can weave a body back together. Shadows that “live” and a city built around the bones of a dead god. It’s incredible how it all weaves together into a seamless whole, where the world is almost a character of its own.

"Nevernight" is graphic and brutal - but it never feels gratuitous. It simply *is*, much like Mia. The only downside that I had were the massive amounts of footnotes. At times, it felt more distracting than like it actually added anything to the story. That, however, is a minor quibble. Overall, "Nevernight" will probably end up in my top 5 list of all books read this year. It's just that good. It's a pleasure to watch Kristoff continue to get better and better, and I look forward to whatever machinations he may have up his sleeve in the future!